


Now on sale in Kourindou! Love advice for just 100 yen

by sudo



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23170801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sudo/pseuds/sudo
Summary: Marisa visits Kourindou to ask for some love advice.
Relationships: Hakurei Reimu/Kirisame Marisa, Kirisame Marisa & Morichika Rinnosuke
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	Now on sale in Kourindou! Love advice for just 100 yen

It had started off a normal visit like any other.  
  
The entrance door to Kourindou slammed open.  
  
"Yo, Kourin!"  
  
The walls of his shop shook as if an earthquake had struck, and sharp metallic clangs rang throughout the room as several of his dusty and untouched artefacts collapsed from the shelves. Hot tea from his cup sloshed out onto the book he was holding, and in alarm he abruptly stood up. More of the tea spilled out from this sudden movement onto his hands, and as the burning sensation struck him he dropped the cup. The cup fell and shattered on the counter, splashing the tea onto his book and all over his clothes.  
  
Well, it started off as normal as Marisa's visits were, anyway.  
  
The door detached from its hinges and unceremoniously fell to the floor with a _thunk_. Marisa quickly withdrew her hand and raised her eyebrows, mouth slightly open. She scanned the room until her gaze finally fell on Rinnosuke, looking him up and down.  
  
"Damn, Kourin," she whistled. "It doesn't look like you've been having such a great time here."  
  
Unimpressed, Rinnosuke pushed his glasses up and set aside his book to dry.  
  
"Hello, Marisa," he deadpanned. "No, I'm not having such a 'good time'."  
  
"I can see that," Marisa snorted, and walked in as if she just hadn't nearly destroyed the entirety of Rinnosuke's shop and stock of goods and possibly ended his entire business. She took a step forward, almost tripping, and grimaced. Picking it up, she attempted to fit it back inside the frame, as if it'd pop back in like a puzzle piece. After a few tries she let it lay awkwardly against the wall, and turned to Rinnosuke.  
  
"Ah," she jabbed a thumb at the now useless piece of wood. "Your door is kinda broken."  
  
Rinnosuke felt his eyebrows twitch. "So it is."  
  
"That door probably hasn't been used for several months now, eh? Seriously, Kourin, you should go out more often! Your door was probably like, rotting away?"  
  
"Well, a door's usual lifetime typically depends on the amount of force used when being opened."  
  
"Yeah, see, if it never opens it wastes away from disuse–"  
  
"No, I meant you slammed it too hard–"  
  
"Not my fault your door was on the verge of falling off anyway! Besides, Kourin, you have no appreciation for my grand entrances. I've gotta keep up appearances and they've gotta be flashy, like danmaku–"  
  
"Marisa, you spilled my tea. And toppled all my wares!" He gestures around in exasperation.  
  
"Huh, what do you mean? Your store's always messy like this."  
  
"No, it's–"  
  
"Okay! It's okay, Kourin, it's completely fine, y'know—I totally get it. My house is the same way! It's like an organised mess, and I get it, people always call me dirty and disorganised but they don't get it, people's minds just work in different ways–"  
  
"Don't compare my shop to your junkyard of a house."  
  
"Ouch, Kourin! Seriously, you don't mince words!"  
  
"You broke my door."  
  
"Okay, okay, whatever! Put it on my tab, or something." She puts up her palms defensively.  
  
Rinnosuke lets out a long suffering sigh. He'd never get her to fix that door.  
  
Marisa, completely guiltless, skipped over to in front of him and sat down. As she put her hands down she almost touched the hot tea and withdrew with a grimace, opting to grasp her seat instead.  
  
"I mean it though," she leaned back. "Your shop kinda looks the same as it always does."  
  
It had been several months since Rinnosuke had last seen Marisa, or rather, since Marisa had last visited Kourindou. They never really encountered each other otherwise because Rinnosuke preferred to stay holed up in his shop, and he was completely fine with that. The length of time between Marisa's visits continued to get longer and longer, and though Rinnosuke was fine with that, and even enjoyed the time he got to spend alone reading books and tinkering with artefacts, he wasn't sure how he felt about the growing distance between him and Marisa. 

It wasn't as if they had been particularly close in the first place, but since he had witnessed Marisa grow up, she was something he would refer to as family. Family did grow apart, sure, and the differences in their eventual lifespans made that inevitability even more apparent, but estrangement with Marisa was a thought that stirred something unpleasant inside his chest. And as the months stretched into years, Rinnosuke began almost missing Marisa, the quickly growing and changing young human he could almost say he was deeply fond of.  
  
However, right now, with lukewarm tea dripping off his clothes and table, all thoughts related to such notions of sentimentality had all but disappeared.  
  
Rinnosuke sighed. "What do you want, Marisa?"  
  
"Um, y'know. Just visiting a good old friend and checking up on how you're doing!"  
  
"Does checking up on a good friend entail breaking their doors and taking their wares?"  
  
"Hey, I said sorry, alright? And I haven't taken anything yet!"  
  
"...Yet? Marisa, really—if you're just bored, please go bother Reimu."  
  
Marisa seemed to flush at the mention of Reimu's name. Rinnosuke raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh? Is something going between you two–"  
  
"No!" Marisa denied, almost too quickly. Now this was unusual. Conflict between the two was scarce, almost enough that it could be considered even more serious than an incident or a youkai that needed to be exterminated.  
  
"Are you sulking around in my shop like it's an alternative because you can't go over to Reimu's?"  
  
"S-Stop talking about Reimu!"  
  
"So there is something going on. Please, Marisa, my shop isn't some place for you to sulk around in."  
  
"There's nothing going on, and you're being rude to your customer!"  
  
"If this customer isn't going to buy anything, then please feel free to leave."  
  
"Wait, no! No, no, no, Rinnosuke, please! I, um, really do need something this time!"  
  
Rinnosuke stopped. He raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"  
  
"Um, yeah." Marisa twiddled her fingers and ducked under her hat. "It's why I came."  
  
"Well then, you should have said so since the beginning."  
  
"It's kind of a special request, and uh, I can pay back the stuff on my tab for it if you have it."  
  
Now Rinnosuke was interested. Marisa seemed to be genuine about her request, if her sudden shyness was any indication, even if he doubted that she would be able to pay all of what she currently owed to Rinnosuke.  
  
"Of course," he considered, and found himself switching to his business-like tone. "Kourindou specialises in such special items and requests, as you put it. I'll certainly find something to suit your needs."  
  
"Okay... well... um..." Marisa entwined her fingers and rubbed her hands together in anxiety. Her face seemed to grow red. "I... well..."  
  
Seeing Marisa in this nervous state was almost disconcerting, but Rinnosuke was now really curious. He kept pressing. "...Yes?"  
  
"Um," Marisa blinked, and inhaled. Almost decisively, she looked up at Rinnosuke.  
  
Marisa sat up, and took off her hat, fiddling with it in her hands. She cleared her throat.  
  
"Do... do you have any love advice?"

Rinnosuke blinked.

Ah. So this was what this was all about.

It was… a touchy subject. One that they had danced around and considered before, but always laughed off as a joke. And that was all he thought it'd remain, a little joke that would become a funny memory from their past, something they could laugh about when Marisa had grown up. But perhaps he had been naïve. Of course it couldn't remain that way. And, perhaps, Marisa's growing distance was for the better. It was only inevitable, given that he was one of the rare male figures who stuck around in Marisa's life–

Marisa coughed, and looked away.

Rinnosuke stared a hole through Marisa's head. The silence between them continued to stretch longer and longer.

Marisa was about to open her mouth when one of the special pots on Rinnosuke's shelves hit the ground with a sharp clang. She cringed as the metallic ring echoed throughout the room, and grew fainter as the pot spun and settled on the floor. The room was plunged into silence once again.

Marisa slowly dragged her gaze up at Rinnosuke. She seemed to sink further into her chair, posture small as if she was begging for mercy.

Rinnosuke cleared his throat. He reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. Marisa looked up, confusion visible on her face.

"Er, Kourin, I–"

"First off," Rinnosuke interrupted. He adjusted his clothes, grimacing at their dampness. "Marisa, I… am afraid I don't feel the same way. I don't—no, I _can't_ have that sort of relationship with you and even if I did, I–"

Marisa shot up in alarm, dropping her hat. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!"

Rinnosuke couldn't bring himself to berate her for interrupting.

"Wait." She waved her palms at him. "Just—wait."

Marisa ran her hands through her hair, and exhaled. She grew a deep shade of red as she looked up at Rinnosuke, and pointed an almost accusing finger at him.

"I—not like that! It's not like that!"

"I… I understand, Marisa, it's not the most easiest thing to talk about–"

"What—no! You're getting it all wrong! This isn't about—I'm not asking about love advice as in like, you and stuff!"

Oh?

Rinnosuke raised his eyebrows, silently asking for clarification. Marisa puffed up her cheeks and huffed at him.

"Kourin, you—eww! It's not like that!"

"You're not…" Rinnosuke paused. "You weren't about to say… 'Kourin, I like you'... or anything like that?"

At this explicit declaration Marisa seemed to explode. She slapped her palms over her face and squirmed.

"Oh my god, Kourin! No! That's weird!"

Ah. Rinnosuke cleared his throat, almost embarrassed, but internally, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well then, you should've clarified as such."

"I—I just said love advice! There's no way someone comes up to you asking for love advice secretly wanting to confess!"

"Well, Kourindou hasn't exactly had many customers asking for wares related to this 'love advice'–"

"Oh, come on! Even if I did, you can't just come to the conclusion that I was going to like, confess to—jeez, it's so weird to think about! You? No way! No way, no way!"

Rinnosuke doesn't know whether to be offended or not. "No way, hm? Well, I do recall that you said once that you'd 'mawwy Kouwwin' when you 'gwow up'–"

"Nope!" Marisa blocked out her ears. "Nope! Nope! Nope! I can't hear you, Kourin! Ah, what did you just say? You'll have to repeat that'–"

"Oh, of course, I can repeat that–"

"No!" 

Marisa slammed her hands on the wet counter. "Kourin, I thought we agreed we'd never bring that up again!"

Rinnosuke let out a hearty chuckle at her red face. It was almost red enough to match Reimu's dress. Ah… wait, speaking of Reimu–

"Actually, did you mention Reimu as well?"

Marisa recoiled as if she'd been stung. "T-The love advice isn't about Reimu either!"

"I didn't say anything about the love advice. Just Reimu," Rinnosuke spoke carefully.

Marisa's eyes widened.

Aha. So this was what this was all about. Rinnosuke resisted the urge to smile smugly, and pushed up his glasses.

"Well, nevermind that. Enough about Reimu."

Marisa sat down, seemingly content, and put her hat back on. She coughed. "Y-Yeah! Enough about Reimu. So, um, love advice."

"Love advice," Rinnosuke repeated. "That's quite a broad request you're asking for. You'll have to be more specific."

"Specific?" Marisa asked dumbly. "Like what?"

To be honest. Rinnosuke has had just as much experience with love and intimate relationships with other people as Marisa had. Perhaps even less.

"Well… for one, who are you asking for?"

"No one," Marisa quickly defended. "I'm just asking for love advice in general! Y'know, how to do it and stuff."

"How to do it… and stuff?"

Rinnosuke took his statement about experience back. Marisa was completely clueless. And this was the magician who supposedly stole people's hearts on a daily basis? Unbelievable.

"Yeah! If you have any books on it or anything, I would totally appreciate it!"

"A book? You—if you want a romance novel, you could get plenty of those at the Human Village–"

"I tried them! They don't really help, they're really vague and weird in explanations and stuff–"

"Marisa, you—you read romance books?"

"Yeah, I read all of the ones I could find! I borrowed some from Patchouli's library, but they're really hard to understand still, if you have any scientific or instructional guides on how to do love it'd be great–"

How to do love?

"Marisa, you can't just—do love." Rinnosuke pinched his nose.

"Yeah, that's what I thought! That's why I came to you and stuff, for love advice!"

And boy was Rinnosuke glad she did. If Rinnosuke let her go now, who knows what could happen.

"Right, well." Rinnosuke took on a preacher-like tone, and for once, Marisa actually sat up in attention. "This… love… is a very complicated subject. Listen carefully."

"First—when you say 'how to do love', could you mean dating?"

"Dating?"

"Yes, like spending time with another person."

"Um, in that case, are we dating right now?"

"A-Ah, no. It's a special kind of outing. You usually take the other out to a special place, or simply just have a special event together. What makes it different from normally spending time is that. It's romantic and such."

"Um, a special event at a special venue, huh? Like, a drinking party?"

"Sure," Rinnosuke raises his eyebrows. "But it's something usually declared or agreed on. And when you date someone you have to, ah… 'ask them out' first."

"I saw that in the romance books! But I don't really get it."

"It's sort of a formal invitation to sort of initiate a romantic connection."

"Oh, so when do you get married?"

"That's… that much further than dating. Love comes in steps. First you have to ask to date, and marriage is… usually, the end, but not always."

"Steps?"

"Yes, like when you become intimate… ah, when you… kiss, and such." Rinnosuke prayed that she didn't ask any further.

"Kiss? Isn't that after marriage?" Rinnosuke both sighed in relief and exasperation.

"Well, people take different steps in different relationships. It's up to the couple to move forward. For example, sometimes people will marry quickly, some people will marry after ten years of courtship, and some never do."

"What happens if you don't get married?"

"You can choose to end the relationship. And people usually marry to start a family."

"Um, start a family?" Marisa fidgeted. "I don't think I don't want to…"

Rinnosuke's eyebrows twitched. "Well, again, love doesn't always end in marriage. And love isn't something that ends. It's something you continue to maintain."

Marisa seemed to reflect on this deeply. That was, apart from when Marisa studied her spells, oddly rare. She was thinking about this too deeply. Rinnosuke was almost concerned.

"Marriage, huh…"

"Well, you shouldn't just think about the end goal. It's important to consider how your partner feels. And you haven't even started yet, so you shouldn't be thinking about marriage yet." 

Unless, she _had_ started.

"Okay, then, um… how do you start the love thing? Like, how do you ask someone to start?"

"Ah, to ask someone out?"

Marisa nodded. Rinnosuke had forgotten just how diligent Marisa could be when it came to learning something she was seriously interested about.

"Well. You just ask them, I suppose?"

"Um, how?"

"Ah, like this. 'Will you go out with me?'"

"So you don't need to bring a ring or any flowers or whatever?"

"A ring is... For marriage, Marisa. And flowers, well, gifts are nice, but it's best to not overdo it."

"What if she says no?"

She. Rinnosuke grinned.

"It's alright, Marisa. I'm sure that Reimu would be willing to give it a try."

Immediately, Marisa opened her mouth to object.

"Don't try to deny it this time," Rinnosuke interrupted before she could get anything in. "This is about Reimu, right?"

Marisa closed and opened her mouth like a goldfish. Her face grew redder and redder with each passing second, until she clamped down her mouth and huffed.

"W-Why are you so convinced that it's Reimu, anyway? And if it is, why would it matter?"

Rinnosuke chuckled. "I'm not the one making a big deal out of this. You were the one who came here and asked for this… 'love advice', after all."

Marisa's angry little pout began to slowly melt. She slouched and pressed her face down on the counter. Her frustrated sigh was muffled by her arms around her head.

Rinnosuke drummed his fingers on the table. He tilted his head and smiled. "Really, what is troubling you, Marisa? Like you said, why would it matter if it was Reimu? You two have always been rather close, after all."

Marisa rotated her head and faced sideways. She sniffed.

"That's exactly it." Her voice was small and subdued. "It's… it's Reimu. It's gotta be perfect, y'know? I–"

She sighed and abruptly sat up, grasping the counter with outstretched arms.

"I don't want her to–" she bit her lips. "To laugh at me, o-or hate me, or something…"

Marisa cast her gaze onto the floor with a sullen look.

"Hate you?" Rinnosuke patted her on the head, and laughed. "Come on, now, Marisa. You know Reimu treats everyone the same. A real supporter of true equality. That is, she hates everyone."

Marisa only shuffled her feet in reply. Ah, maybe that wasn't the best thing to say.

"Marisa," Rinnosuke tried again. "Could you tell me that story again? About how you and Reimu met?"

This seemed to catch her interest a little. She lifted up her head just a tad bit. "Hmm?"

"Right after you ran away from home the first time, you came over to sulk in my shop like you usually did, and I tried convincing you to go back. But… obviously, as stubborn as you were and are, you didn't listen," Rinnosuke smiled fondly. "And you told me that you'd been accepted as an apprentice under some dodgy 'Master Mima' or something… and that you'd prove that you were capable, and defeat the shrine maiden and steal her power. And then–"

"And—and then I got totally destroyed," Marisa grinned. She had straightened up now, and was raptly paying attention. "I tried to steal her Ying-yang Orbs, and–"

She broke out into guffaws, slapping her thighs. "And she straight up just beat me up without giving a damn. And right after she beat up Miss Mima I went back to the shrine and forced her to train while being chained onto a cross…"

Her previously sullen face was now restored into a full-blown grin that mirrored Rinnosuke's. He brought a hand to his face. He probably hadn't reminisced and laughed like this in so long—his cheeks almost hurt from smiling.

"And then you brought her here," Rinnosuke crossed his arms, feigning disapproval. "And then the both of you started your _tabs_ , and taking my wares and destroying my shop. _Constantly._ "

He shook his head at Marisa's smirk and poorly held-back giggles. In an overdramatic display he sighed loudly and brought a hand to his heart. "Perhaps if I hadn't attempted to convince you to go back that day, I would've had a flourishing business without you two freeloading in my shop and draining my assets all the time."

He slumped over in mock sorrow. Marisa snickered, and Rinnosuke smiled back at her.

"So," he straightened up and crossed his arms. "Do you get it now?"

"Uh?" Marisa tilted her head, wiping tears from her eyes.

"You're Reimu's best friend," he laid a hand on her arm. "Hell, probably her first friend, if you don't count that old turtle she had. The first time you two met you _beat each other up._ And you still do, sometimes."

Marisa blinked.

"My point is, Reimu would never hate you. You've been through so much together. Or, at least—Reimu would never hate you over something like this. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Marisa cast her eyes down once more. A bitter smile graced her face.

"Yeah, you're right. But… I've never done this before," she fiddled with the frills on her dress. "If stuff explodes when I try out new spells, or I get sick when I pick out and cook mushrooms I've never seen before around the forest, it's fine, 'cos nothing too bad ever happens and I learn something new. But this… telling Reimu I like her… this love stuff. I don't know. I have this bad feeling that, if I do something wrong, all of what I have now will disappear. And I don't want that. If—if I could never do this date stuff, or kiss Reimu, then I'm fine. As long as I fight and have shrine parties with her everyday, I know that I would— _should_ be fine with everything staying as it is now. But somehow, I…"

She hunched over and hugged her knees. "I—I'm not. I'm not fine with it. I want _more._ "

Two longer hands slipped under hers. Marisa looked up into Rinnosuke's amused twinkling eyes.

"And since when," Rinnosuke squeezed her hands. "Has the probability of failure ever stopped the great ordinary magician, Marisa Kirisame?"

Marisa flushed, and pouted.

"You've _always_ chased after the same incidents and youkai Reimu goes to solve, copied all the attacks of everyone you've fought to near perfect precision, improved your techniques and spells to an extent that no ordinary human is able to because of all your work and some... borrowed materials. Despite all the problems you've faced, you've never stopped pressing on. You're so stubborn that sometimes it's a pain," his cheeks tugged at the corner of his lips. "But still, you've never listened to that. You've never listened or paid attention to anything that would stop you from reaching and taking what you've wanted. So why would it be different now?"

Marisa clutched her dress and inhaled. "Okay," she exhaled. "O-Okay."

She looked up, a fire relit inside her eyes. "I'll do it. I'll ask Reimu."

She squeezed back at his hands, and pulled him close into an embrace.

"Rinnosuke," Marisa whispered into his neck. "Thank you."

"Hey," Rinnosuke held her tighter. "I hope you know that this love advice of mine isn't for free."

She laughed softly. "Okay," she thumped his back. "Put it on my tab."

Rinnosuke sighed, but patted her head in resignation. After a moment of relishing each others' embrace, they withdrew and sat back down. Marisa wiped her arm on the skirt of her dress.

"Rinnosuke," she rubbed her cheek on her sleeves. "Your clothes are wet."

Ah, of course. The tea he'd spilled earlier.

"Yes," Rinnosuke offered. He was once more painfully aware of all his clothes, soggy with now lukewarm tea. Somehow it only felt worse than before.

Marisa sniffed. They sat in silence for a moment.

She drummed her fingers on her table. "So… how do I do it?"

"Do what?"

"The… asking out thing. Like, asking her to do the love thing with me." 

"Well, since you're so close, I don't think you should do anything that's too special or complicated, really," Rinnosuke reflected. "It'd really be best if you simply act natural, like you usually do, and present yourself honestly. That's something you'll have to keep up throughout the entire time you're together—being open and honest. Simply put, just act like yourself."

Marisa leaned back and considered this.

"Honesty, huh." She snorted. Rinnosuke rolled his eyes.

"If you're so worried, you could practice," Rinnosuke suggested.

"Like, with you?"

"Er, that's not exactly what I had in mind, but sure, I'd be up for it." Rinnosuke blinked. "With an additional fee to account for it, of course."

"Yeah, yeah," Marisa waved. "Just put it on my tab. So, um… now?"

"Well, not _now_ —ah, you know what, I don't see why not," he considered, and shrugged. "Go for it."

Marisa sat up with a sudden sense of urgency. "Uhh, urhm…"

Her face seemed to redden by the second.

"Just act like you usually do," Rinnosuke cautioned in a gentle tone. "And… take it slowly."

Marisa took a deep breath, and nodded. "Y-yeah. Okay."

With how often she displayed arrogance and boisterous carelessness, it was almost disconcerting to see Marisa so unsure.

"I, uh, have something to tell you? R-Rinnosuke? No, that's too weird," she cringed. "I'll just—um–"

She cleared her throat and hopped off her seat. She adjusted her dress, stood straight up and looked forward with a determined air.

"Reimu," she tucked back a strand of hair behind her ear. "For some time, I've—um, I've been starting to realise something. You've always been my best friend, ever since, heh, you beat me up when I tried to take your power. I love the time we spend with each other. I… I love hunting and beating up youkai with you, and I love staying over at your shrine all the time and falling asleep together and waking up with a headache from getting hungover from drinking too much at our parties."

Marisa steeled her gaze. Rinnosuke nodded, motioning for her to carry on—for some 'practice', it was pretty amazing for her to have come up with all of this on the spot.

"Reimu, I want to do that with you forever. I want to wake up next to you every morning. I want to cook mushrooms with you for breakfast and when we get sick I want to take care of you. I want to beat up youkai with you everyday, and go to heaven and hell and everything in between. I want to attend Buddhist rock band concerts with you and have shrine parties with you, and in every shrine party we have I want to get drunk through the night and fall asleep by your side. And every morning after those parties I want to wake up next to you and deal with the pain and headache from our hangovers. I want to do all of that with you forever, and more."

A deep red shade had settled into Marisa's cheeks now, but her tone and pose was as steady as it had been from the start. 

"Reimu." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Will you–"

Marisa was interrupted by a door handle that flew by her head. A familiar voice in a low tone of irritation called out:

"Marisa!"

Rinnosuke paled. Oh, no.

The entrance to Kourindou, which had previously laid awkwardly against the wall outside of his frame, was now scattered throughout the store. Several of his products were now _enhanced_ with a sharp piece of wood, and his walls were adorned decoratively with wooden door pieces. Right behind him, a piece of what could be considered shrapnel barely missed his head, and was now an addition to one of his favourite and most valuable art pieces which he hung on the wall behind him.

"Marisa," the irritated voice drawled. "Literally, absolutely _nothing_ is going on at the shrine right now. No one's visiting and there's no incidents or stupid youkai or fairies. I even managed to clean the shrine and there's _still_ nothing else to do. I was totally gonna sleep in, but Kasen went and lectured me and told me I could do my job as a shrine maiden patrol or something, so... I was looking _everywhere_ for you, and you were here doing corny poems with Rinnosuke, or something?"

At least Marisa apologised for the door.

Said ordinary magician visibly shook as she turned around to face the new presence in the shop. Could it be that she heard everything Marisa had practiced to Rinnosuke just now?

The intruder strolled leisurely inside the store, kicking away a piece of the door in her way. She strolled over to Marisa and slapped a hand down onto her shoulder.

"Yo!" She drawled. "What's up? Also, hey, Rinnosuke."

"Hi," Rinnosuke replied drily.

Marisa was completely frozen. She wasn't shaking anymore. Her mouth hung open. It was almost as if she'd stopped thinking. She hadn't been blinking for some time, either. It was rather concerning.

The intruder seemed to think this as well. She tilted her head. 

"Uh, Marisa? You possessed right now or something?"

"G-Go out with me," Marisa finally sputtered. "Reimu."

Rinnosuke's arm jerked and pushed a teapot off his counter, and it shattered alongside some other wares behind his counter. The remaining tea splashed onto his clothes and they became fully wet once more. He opened his mouth, but found himself unable to move to clean it up.

Reimu blinked.

"Yeah, man, that was the plan. So you're not busy? We can go out and get some drinks at Geidontei or something," she grinned.

"I-I mean, I love you, Reimu," Marisa turned into a fish, her mouth flapping open and shut.

"You're sweet today, Marisa," Reimu deadpanned. "I love you too. But the drinks are on you this time, no matter how much you butter me up. Sorry, but you know I'm flat broke, and I paid last time."

It was Rinnosuke's turn to turn into a fish. He couldn't tell if Reimu was being her usual obtuse self or if she was simply just as bad, perhaps worse, than Marisa was at this love thing. Perhaps they were actually so close, that getting closer actually wasn't possible.

Marisa seemed exasperated by her friend's antics, for once. "Reimu, listen–"

Reimu wrapped an arm around Marisa, and began dragging her outside, much to her spluttering friend's chagrin. "Alright, see you, Rinnosuke! You should fix up your door and shop, this entire building's pretty badly broken. Okay, Marisa, maybe after Geidontei we can go and chill at my shrine or something if Kasen's not there..."

"Wait, Reimu, please listen–"

Rinnosuke couldn't bring himself to complain about the state the two had left his shop in over Marisa's attempts in vain to object to Reimu. The two deserted him without a word, and their voices eventually faded into the distance.

Rinnosuke stood wordlessly inside his shop. His wet clothes pressed, rather annoyingly, into his skin. He had been left without a door, and yet another customer who hadn't paid for his services.

"Good grief," he facepalmed, and yet one of his wares, as if to accentuate his point, fell to the floor with a mighty _thump_.


End file.
